


Bad At Love

by thelittlepalmtree



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-06-01 03:05:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15133721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelittlepalmtree/pseuds/thelittlepalmtree
Summary: Hawkmoth mysteriously disappeared when Marinette and Adrien were in their senior year. No one knows what happened, but suddenly people stopped being Akumatized. Now Adrien and Marinette are about to graduate from college, a whole five years since an incident and Akumas are back. Ladybug and Chat Noir must heed the call to action, but they’re not quite the same kids they used to be and something feels different about this Hawk Moth.





	Bad At Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chemically_yours](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chemically_yours/gifts).



> Hi y'all. Many of you read my fic Ladybug & Chat Noir. Well I recently edited it to announce that I will NOT be writing a sequel to that. Instead I will be writing this fic. Bad at Love is a slightly divergent fic that is going to delve into my own head canons about the miraculous and how they work.

It wasn’t common that Adrien waited until he got home to detransform, usually somewhere on the journey it happened and he ended up having to run to get home before anyone missed him. But after this particular battle hadn’t happened _too_ far away from his house, so why not? He didn’t have the energy to be cautious, not after the particularly difficult battle. He launched himself into his open window and let the magic slip away, revealing one very grumpy Kwami.

As he fished some camembert out of his fridge he didn’t notice that his door was ajar or that his father had been watching him from the opening. In fact, for years to come, Adrien would have sworn the door was closed when he got home.

Gabriel Agreste had received a shock that might have given a less fit man a heart attack. All this time…even through Gorizilla who had held him precariously over the building. He had nearly died in that battle! If Hawk Moth hadn’t let Ladybug go, would he have died before revealing himself?

 It seemed there were quite a few things Gabriel did not know about his son. The secrets burned at him as he paced in his office. To anyone who might have seen him at that moment he would look as composed as ever, but a tempest was brewing inside him at the thought that this entire time he’d been fighting his son.

It wasn’t the first time the idea had occurred to him, but something about it had been far off. When he first suspected Adrien he had only wanted to verify his suspicions, mostly to make himself sure that the connection was false. There had been no plan for how he would react if his own son was also his mortal enemy.

And what kind of world was he creating where that was true. He looked up at the portrait of Emilie. All of this he had done for her…but it was hard to maintain his conviction when he looked into her eyes now. What would she have said if she knew what he had done?

The horrifying truth was that he couldn’t remember. He had forgotten the sound of her voice, forgotten everything besides the emptiness she left behind. And he had been close now to losing Adrien too. Chat Noir had almost died when the Akuma—Neptune—had stabbed him with a Trident. Without Ladybug’s restorative powers, Chat Noir—Adrien—would be dead.

But what about his goal? To bring back Emilie? What if Adrien knew about it? Perhaps he would give up his miraculous freely? That could be the solution to this! And if Chat Noir knew who Ladybug was…then his dream may actually come true.

 _You don’t really think that do you?_ A part of him said. He wasn’t exactly close with Adrien anymore. In fact if Chat Noir’s behavior was any indication, he barely knew his son at all. The black-clad hero was almost unrecognizable as Adrien Agreste, the mild-mannered fashion model. And he had resigned himself to force precisely because he knew a miraculous holder would never give up their power to such a cause.

He stepped out of his office, perhaps just for a change of scenery, when he ran into Nathalie. She jumped back as though she knew the truth of _his_ identity. “M-Mr. Agreste!” She said, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Nathalie, you’re here late.” He said coolly. He had meant to distract her from his clear distress but she only peered at him curiously. He realized he had never really shown concern for he comings and goings before.

“Y-yes sir,” She finally responded without explanation. He was starting to feel like he’d woken up from a dream, and that someone else had been playing in his body for years.

“Nathalie,” he said, leaning forward, “Do you think I’m a good father?”

Her eyes widened at the question. It wasn’t exactly a conventional one, after all, and probably not appropriate for the workplace. “O-Of course sir,” She said after a moment. She was lying.

So it was obvious to everyone, wasn’t it? His preoccupation with bringing back Emilie had permeated every aspect of his life.

 _And you almost killed Adrien to get it._ A voice in the back of his head said brutally. He almost felt the blood dripping from his hands. _Even Nathalie knows you’re a monster._

He tried to conjure the image of Emilie in his mind. What had it been like to be with her? To touch her? To hold her?

The devastating truth was…he couldn’t remember. There was a gap where his wife had been, and he filled it with Akumas and false hopes. But was any of it really possible?

“Uh…sir…” Nathalie said timidly, “If I might…whatever’s bothering you, I’m sure you can talk to Adrien about it.”

He turned his gaze back on her, realizing she was looking at him with concern. Talk to Adrien? The idea sounded absurd to him, after all he was only a child…and…could Gabriel really face him after tonight?

“Thank you, Nathalie, you can go home.” He said, stepping back into his office.

There had been doubts before, little pricks of guilt. He was usually able to return his focus to his work by planning his next move. But that didn’t work now. Every time he thought about creating another Akuma he saw Adrien bleeding out on the ground. He owed Ladybug more than he could comprehend.

“Father?” Adrien appeared like a specter of his guilt. “Nathalie said you might want to talk to me?” He looked concerned…if only he’d known what was causing Gabriel’s guilt.

“Nathalie shouldn’t have sent you it’s time for you to go to sleep.” Gabriel’s voice was harsher than he’d meant.

“Sorry.” Adrien turned to leave, and Gabriel realized that he was more used to that sight than he was to the image of his late wife.

“Adrien!” He called out almost unconsciously and his son spun around on his heel.

“Yes?” He had a mixture of excitement and fear on his face. Was it really so difficult to face his own father?

“Do you…” Gabriel glanced up at Emilie’s picture, “Do you…remember your mother?” Could he understand? Could he realize how much Gabriel had done for him? Was it possible?

The question caught Adrien off guard. “I…don’t’ know.” He admitted sheepishly. It wasn’t the answer Gabriel expected.

“What do you mean?” Gabriel demanded, once again his tone far too harsh.

Adrien looked around the room as if someone might step out and save him, “I just…I guess I don’t remember her…but I like to think that if she were here I’d…” He trailed off.

“You’d what?” Gabriel walked around his desk and looked at his so intently. He needed something to hold onto, something that could justify this cause in the face of this new information.

“I’d be less lonely.” Adrien finally said, looking guilty as though he’d forced himself to say something he’d been holding back. “I think she would have let me go to school and have friends and hang out with them and if she were here I wouldn’t have a body guard, I’d just be normal!” He finally finished. Then, as if to avoid his father’s inevitable wrath he turned and left.

So that was the truth. Adrien barely remembered his mother, it was his father he had lost. Gabriel had been so lost to his own pain he had nearly hurt or killed his son on several occasions and not always as a superhero.

He reached for the butterfly pin under his cravat and opened the safe behind the painting of Emilie. “Nooroo.” He called and the small, haggard looking Kwami popped out of a bookshelf.

He looked at the pin. If it was a choice between his wife and his son, he knew there was no context. “I’m sorry Emilie,” He whispered softly.

“Master I—” Nooroo spoke quickly but was cut off.

“Nooroo,” Gabriel placed the butterfly pin in the safe gingerly. “I renounce you.” The Kwami was dragged into the broach.

It would be a long road, Gabriel had no illusions. He was in pain, and he would be for a long time. But his son needed him. If there was anyone he could give this up for, it was Adrien.

And like that, Hawkmoth was gone.


End file.
